The present invention relates, in general, to a linear drive for an injection molding machine.
Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to be construed as an admission of prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,235 describes an injection drive in the form of a spindle drive with an electric motor for an injection molding machine. During the injection phase, the operation of the electric motor is assisted by an energy accumulator in the form of a compression spring assembly which acts parallel to the electric motor. The compression spring assembly is increasingly tensed and recharged during the return stroke of the spindle drive, which spring tension is continuously decreased in correspondence to the spring characteristic, as the spindle drive undergoes the forward stroke.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved linear drive for an injection molding machine, which has a compact construction and protects internal components against contamination and which can easily be adjusted to the respective areas of receiving and releasing forces.